Hostage (episode)
Hostage was the eighth episode of Series B it was first broadcast 27 February 1979. It was the first episode to show any of Roj Blake's family. Synopsis From the VHS release: As the Council screams for Blake's head, the Federation is renewing its attack with a vengeance. It seems the Liberator is under fire from all sides. Then a message comes through from fellow fugitive Travis, offering the hand of friendship. Plot The Liberator comes under attack from a group of Federation ships. They apparently evade them but are then attacked by more ships led by a Space Commander, who were employing a detector shield similar to the one Avon developed for the Liberator. They manage to evade the second group. The Liberator is contacted by Travis, who reveals that he is on Exbar and is holding Blake's cousin Inga hostage. He says that now they are both fugitives from the Federation they should pool their resources. Blake explains that Exbar is a low security Federation prison planet where his uncle Ushton is being held. Neither Blake nor Avon trust Travis but Blake feels he has to go anyway to help Inga. Servalan receives a visit from Counciller Joban, who informs her of concern that both Blake and Travis are still at large. After he has gone, Servalan receives a message informing her of Travis' presence on Exbar and decides to take a ship to investigate personally. Avon insists on having Zen check there are no Federation ships near Exbar but when he answers negative Blake teleports down. Avon decides to follow him and Cally senses he is guilty about something. Blake meets up with Ushton, who says Travis is assisted by a group of crimos - criminal psychopaths - and has taken refuge on a mountain top. Ushton is unable to reach it because of an injured leg. Blake sets off and Avon, watching from a distance, sees Ushton is faking the injury. He has Vila teleport down to keep an eye on Ushton while he follows Blake. However, both Blake and Avon fall into traps set by Travis while Vila is taken prisoner by Ushton, who is helping Travis to ensure Inga's safety. The trio are taken to Travis, who wants control of the Liberator, feeling it is the only way he'll be safe from the Federation. He imprisons the group in a pressurised chamber and forces Vila to call for teleport, having given his bracelet to one of his crimos, Molok. Jenna and Cally accidentally teleport Molok aboard. After assessing the ship, he tries to teleport back down with Cally as a prisoner but she gets free, allowing Jenna to teleport Molok into space. However, with Servalan now showing up on sensors, the pair are unable to risk leaving the ship. Avon admits that he had Orac send Servalan the message, thinking she would send the nearest Federation ship and Travis would be picked up before they arrived. Travis begins depressuring the chamber to kill them but Ushton tricks him into thinking Inga has escaped, so he sends the crimos after her. Ushton and Inga then overpower Travis and dump him outside before freeing the prisoners. Travis rallies his three remaining crimos and Blake, Avon and Ushton go after them, causing a rockfall that kills one of the crimos. In the ensuing confrontation, Travis manages to get the drop on Blake and Avon but is overpowered by Ushton, who has already despatched the other two crimos. He is tied up and left for the Federation. Blake has Jenna teleport down with spare bracelets but Ushton and Inga decline to go with them: Travis opened up the stronghold and the supplies inside, which they now intend to use to feed the rest of the planet. After the Liberator has gone, Servalan arrives on the planet with a Mutoid and releases Travis, telling him that if he continues to lead her to Blake she will have him officially listed as dead. Cast *Roj Blake - Gareth Thomas *Avon - Paul Darrow *Vila - Michael Keating *Jenna - Sally Knyvette *Cally - Jan Chappell *Zen/Orac - Peter Tuddenham *Servalan - Jacqueline Pearce *Travis - Brian Croucher * Ushton - John Abineri * Inga - Judy Buxton * Joban - Kevin Stoney * Space Commander - Andrew Robertson * Mutoid - Judith Porter * Molok - James Coyle Crew * Stunt Co-ordinator - Peter Brayham * Production Assistant - Geoffrey Manton * Production Unit Manager - Sheelagh Rees * Film Cameraman - Max Samett * Film Recordist - John Gatland * Film Editor - Sheila S. Tomlinson * Series Videotape Editors - Sam Upton (Uncredited), Malcolm Banthorpe (Uncredited) * Visual Effects Designer - Mat Irvine, Peter Pegrum, Andy Lazell * Electronic Effects - A.J. Mitchell * Studio Lighting - Brian Clemett * Studio Sound - Malcolm Johnson * Special Sound - Elizabeth Parker * Costume Designer - Barbara Kidd * Make Up Artist - Ann Ailes * Music By - Dudley Simpson * Series Created By - Terry Nation Story notes *Actor Duncan Lamont was cast as Ushton but died after completing the location filming, which had to be reshot with John Abineri in the role. *Kevin Stoney, who appears here as Joban, later played Ardus in "Animals". *Blake, Avon and Vila wear identical white outfits when teleporting down. These are later worn by Avon and Grant in "Countdown". *This is the only episode where a character other than Travis uses the rank of Space Commander. Ratings 7.8M Filming locations Betchworth Quarry, Reigate, Sussex Production errors To be added. Continuity *Travis' status as a Federation fugitive was established in Trial, the same episode where the detector shield was introduced. *Molok's fate echoes that of Vargas in Cygnus Alpha. Quotes Cally: Are you dying? Vila: I'm thinking about it. Avon: Can we withstand an attack of this magnitude? Zen: No information. Avon: Thank you, that's very helpful. Avon: When I saw Blake go, he had a limp. When he went back into the cave, he didn't have a limp. Vila: Perhaps he's a fast healer. Cally: I'm going to clear the neutron blasters for firing. Jenna: What are you going to fire at? Cally: Anything that moves. Home video releases * Original BBC video release (Volume 11) in 1991. * Fabulous Films video reissue (Volume 11) on 2 November 1998. * DVD release as part of the Series 2 box set on 17 January 2005. External links * References Category:Series B episodes